Macerator having automated roller spacing control

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a processing device, such as a macerator for use in processing various types of food products, that includes an automatic adjustment mechanism for adjusting the position of a roller disposed within the macerator. The mechanism includes a controller operably connected to a motor that can move the roller within the macerator to vary the position of the roller with respect to another roller located in the macerator. Inputs to the controller are used to control the operation of the motor to move the roll into a desired configuration associated in a storage medium in the controller with a particular food product to be processed. The input to the controller can also be used to simultaneously adjust the position of other components of other processing devices in a food processing system, such as an injector to remove the need for individually adjust each device in the system. Also, the controller can utilize other devices on the macerator to dynamically adjust the position of the rollers in response to the individual food products being treated in the macerator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 12/900,962, filed on Oct. 8, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,764,523,which in turn claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/249,832, filed on Oct. 8, 2009, the entirety of which are each herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to machines utilized in preparing foodproducts, and more specifically to tenderize the food products bypassing the food products through sets of rotary knives.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the preparation of food products, depending on the type of foodproduct being prepared, different operative conditions are employed inthe various devices that are utilized in the preparation of the foodproduct. These devices or machines can include injectors for introducingvarious marinades and other additives into the food products andmacerators for tenderizing the food products, among others.

However, because these machines are often utilized to process andprepare different types of food products having different parameters,such as meat products including beef, pork, poultry, muscle groups, andother meat types, among others, the differences in these types of foodproducts require different preparation steps in order to properlyprepare the food product as desired. For example, the spacing for therotary blade shafts in a macerator must be adjusted to accommodate thesize of the various types of food products so that the particular foodproducts are properly macerated/cut/surface treated for furtherprocessing.

In prior art food product processing systems, the control of theoperation of the individual devices or machines utilized in the systemis accomplished by manually adjusting the operational parameters of theindividual machines to the desired condition. Thus, when there is achange in the type of food product being processed or in the desiredfinal preparation for the food products, the individual machines must bemanually reconfigured to the desired settings to produce the foodproducts in the desired state.

However, to make these adjustments, the prior art devices require thatan individual turn a handwheel or other manually operable instrument toadjust the settings for the device. Because this is required for eachdevice in the food processing system, oftentimes an individual wouldfail to accurately make the adjustment on each of the devices in thesystem, or simply would place the devices at a compromise setting thatcould enable the devices to process multiple types of food products, butwithout the devices being optimized for any one product type.

In order to reduce the amount of adjustment required for the machines toaccommodate these types of changes, various mechanisms have beendeveloped for use on the various machines in a food processing system toreduce the manual adjustment necessary for these machines. For example,U.S. Publ. No. 2005/0124276 of Gagliardi, Jr. discloses a meattenderizing and flattening apparatus. The apparatus includes a pair ofparallel rollers spaced apart by a predetermined distance. Thepredetermined distance is preferably in the range of about 1/16th inchto about ¾th inch, a distance which may be adjusted as needed. Thispublication also recognizes that the spacing between the rollers may beadjusted based upon the size of the meat being tenderized and flattened,the desired final thickness of the meat, as well as other factorsapparent to those of skill in the art

Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,367 to Horton describes a meat tenderizingapparatus that includes an upper roller and a lower roller spaced fromthe upper roller. Meat to be tenderized is passed between the rollers,and the upper roller is adjustable to vary the spacing between therollers to accommodate meats of various thicknesses. Horton also teachesa first dial to adjust the spacing between the upper and lower rollersand teaches a second dial that rotates the upper rollers. Horton teachesthat the second dial may be driven by a motor.

Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,259 to Bridge, Jr. teaches a meattenderizer that includes a pair of rotary knives, one of which is fixedand another of which is floating. This arrangement allows the floatingknife to move upwardly and downwardly to vary the spacing between theknives to accommodate contours of the meat to be tenderized. Thefloating knife is spring biased downward but is allowed to float as thesize, shape, and contour of the mass passing between the knives changes.Additionally. Bridge, Jr. teaches manually setting the floating knife ata fixed position if a fixed spacing between the fixed and floatingknives is desired.

However, all of these prior art documents fail to teach or suggestautomatically adjusting the spacing between the rollers based on one ormore inputs made to a remote control panel or other interface, e.g., a“recipe” setting the parameters of the food processing process.Therefore, it is desirable to develop a control system for a foodproduct processing system that enables the operating parameters of thesystem to be automatically and remotely adjusted to accommodate a changein the type or final condition of a food product being processed by thesystem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, a foodprocessing system including a macerator is provided in which a controlsystem having a remote user/operator input is operably connected to themacerator and other components of the system. By inputting certainoperating conditions into the remote input, the control systemautomatically adjusts the operating parameters of the macerator and theother components of the system to accommodate the desired processing ofthe incoming food products and, in the case of a macerator, includes thespacing between the knife shaft rollers and the cutting speed of therotating knives, in addition to the tension or force of the rotatingrollers or knife shafts.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the control systemincludes stored data corresponding to a number of preset conditions foruse with various types or recipes for different food products.Therefore, when an input is made corresponding to a particular foodproduct, the control system can automatically adjust the settings foreach of the various devices included within the system to optimize thefood processing system for the production of the desired food product.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the inputfor the control system can be located at any point on the foodprocessing system, or can be disposed at a remote point from the foodprocessing system in order to enable the food processing system to becontrolled from a location other than that at which the food processingsystem is disposed.

According to still a further aspect of the present invention, thecontrol system includes a product detection system that determines theheight profile of the product entering the system. The height profilecan be either mechanically or wirelessly determined, and is utilized bythe control system to dynamically space the rollers or knives for theparticular product.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the foodprocessing system can include a dynamic adjustment mechanism for therotating shafts on which the rollers or knives are mounted. Theadjustment mechanism enables one shaft to move with respect to the othershaft in order to accommodate a piece of a food product passing betweenthe shafts. The mechanism uses an an cylinder to apply a constantpressure against the food product as it passes between the shafts touniformly engage the food product. The air cylinder enables the movableshaft to adjust its position relative to the fixed shall in order toprovide the uniform engagement of the food product.

Numerous other aspects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill be made apparent from the following detailed description takentogether with the drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated forpracticing the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a food processing system including aninjector and macerator each connected to a control system constructedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the internal components of the maceratorof the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the internal macerator components of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the process for operating thecontrol system to alter the operational configuration for the foodprocessing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of a second embodiment of the foodprocessing system of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the internal components of the maceratorof the system of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the internal macerator components of FIG.6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along line 8-8 of FIG. 6 showing theinternal components in a first position;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 8 with the internalcomponents in a second position;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a mechanical product height detectionmechanism of the system of FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the mechanism of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a side plan view of the mechanism of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of theinternal components of the macerator of FIG. 6;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the internal components of the maceratorof FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment of theinternal components of the macerator of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawing figures in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the disclosure, one embodimentof a food processing system utilized in the present invention isindicated generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The food processing system 10 caninclude any number of suitable processing devices 11, which in theillustrated embodiment are an injector 12 and a macerator 14.

The injector 12 can be any suitable injector utilized for injecting orotherwise introducing a solution, such as a marinade, into a foodproduct (not shown) that has been introduced into the injector 12. Onesuitable type of injector 12 is the IMAX 620 manufactured by Schroederof Germany. In FIG. 1, the illustrated injector 12 includes a frame 16including a hatch 18 through which the food product to be processed canbe introduced into the injector 12. The internal components of theinjector 12, such as the injection needles, inject solution valves,walking beam conveyor or belt-type conveyor, among others, arewell-known in the art and are utilized to effectively inject the desiredsolution into the food product to achieve an optimal condition for theproduct prior to further processing, such as massaging, pack-off, and/orcooking. The inject or marinade supplied to the injector 12 can comefrom a number of different sources, such that different types ofinjects, solutions and/or marinades can be supplied to the injector 12for use with various types of food products.

To control the type and amount of the solutions supplied to the injector12 during its operation, the injector 12 includes a control box 20 thatis utilized to control both the operation of the injector 12 and theflow of the various solutions to the injector 12. The control box 20includes various input devices 22, such as buttons, switches, keypads orother suitable hard wired or wireless input devices, that enable anindividual to select the operating parameters for the injector 12 toprocess a particular food product to be positioned within the injector12. The control box 20 may also include a suitable electronic centralprocessing unit (CPU) 24 and electronic storage medium 26 in which isstored a number of preset operating parameters for the injector 12 thatcorrespond to the desired settings for the injector 12 for use inprocessing certain types of food products. Thus, by providing aparticular input through the device 22 on the control box 20, the CPU 24can access the operational settings in the medium 26 associated withthat input and can properly configure the injector 12 for use inprocessing the particular food product.

From the injector 12, the food product is transferred via a chute 28onto a conveyor 30 or 160 another chute. The conveyor 30 is connected tothe macerator 14 and advances the food product upwardly towards an inlet32 for the macerator 14. As best shown in FIG. 1, the macerator 14 isillustrated as including a base 34 having a number of wheels 36 andstationary supports 37 that are movable with respect to the base 34 toselectively disengage the wheels 36 from a support surface, i.e. afloor, and prevent the macerator 14 from moving. A vertical support 38extends upwardly 165 from the base 34 and supports a housing 40 oppositethe base 14. The support 38 is also connected to a support arm 42 thatextends outwardly from one side of the support 38 and is used to supportthe conveyor 30 on the macerator 14.

Looking now at FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 40 for the macerator 14encloses a tenderizing mechanism 44 that is disposed directly beneaththe inlet 32 to receive the food product from the conveyor 30 through anopen upper end of the housing 40. The mechanism 44 includes a frame 46that is generally U-shaped, and supports a first rotary knife roller 50across the open end 48 of the frame 46 between a pair of arms 47 of theframe 46. Positioned adjacent the first roller 50 is a second rotaryknife roller 52 that is rotatably mounted to the housing 40. The firstroller 50 and the second roller 52 are similarly constructed with acentral shaft 54 and a number of knife blades 56 disposed around theshaft 54 and spaced equidistant from one another along the length of theshaft 54. The central shaft 54 of each roller 50 and 52 is operablyconnected to a motor 57 that is operable to rotate the shafts 54, andconsequently the blades 56 on each of the rollers 50 and 52.

The roller 52 is affixed to the housing 40 in a manner that enables theroller 52 to rotate with regard to the housing 40 while also positioningthe roller 52 a short distance from the first roller 50 to provide aspace 58 between the blades 56 on each roller 50 and 52. Each roller 50and 52 also includes an air cylinder 59 operably connected to the motor57 to be used to back out the rollers 50 and 52 to free any blockagesthat become engaged between the rollers 50 and 52, such as a metalobject that cannot be cut by the blades 56.

The first roller 50 is operably connected to the arms 47 of the frame 46at each end, and the corresponding motor 57 and air cylinder 59 for thefirst roller 50 is also connected to the frame 46 for movementtherewith. The central portion 60 of the frame 46 is formed with acenter panel 62 and a pair of side panels 64 extending outwardly fromopposed sides of the center panel 62 to define a channel 66therebetween. Within the channel 66 is received a slide 68 thatgenerally conforms in shape to the channel 66. The slide 68 includes apair of flanges 70 that extend outwardly from a body 72 affixed to thehousing 40 by a pair of braces 74. Also secured to the body 72 is anadjustment shaft 76 that extends through the body 72 into engagementwith the center panel 62 of the frame 46. The shaft 76 is operablyconnected to a servomotor 78 or other suitable motive mechanism, such asa stepper motor, a geared head motor with sensors, etc., to control theoperation of the shaft 76. When the shaft 76 is extended by the motor78, the shaft 76 operates to push the frame 46 away from the slide 68,thereby moving the first roller 50 closer to the second roller 52.Additionally, when the shaft 76 is retracted by the motor 78, the frame46 is moved closer to the slide 68, increasing the size of the space 58between the first roller 50 and second roller 52.

To control the operation of the servomotor 78 and the correspondingposition of the frame 46 and first roller 50, the servomotor 78 isoperably connected to a separate control box 80 disposed in the support38 of the macerator 14, which in turn is operably connected to thecontrol box 20 on the injector 12. The operable connection 82 madebetween the control box 80 and the control box 20 can be any suitableconnection, such a hard wired or wireless connection.

Because of the connection 82 between the control box 80 and the controlbox 20, the inputs 22 on the control box 20 are also able to control theoperation of the servomotor 78 to properly position the first roller 50with respect to the second roller 52. As a result, the operation of theservomotor 78 and corresponding position of the first roller 50 can bedetermined utilizing the information stored in the medium 26 associatedwith the information utilized to select the parameters for the injector12 to process a particular type of food product. In this manner, bysimply selecting an input associated with a particular food product, thesettings for the injector 12 and/or the macerator 14 can beautomatically and remotely adjusted to accommodate the selected foodproduct. Further, in one embodiment for the invention, the informationstored in the electronic storage medium 26 for a particular food productcan be accessed and utilized to adjust the injector 12 and/or macerator14 by depressing a single button or switch on the control box 20 thatcorresponds to the selected food product. In this manner, the settingsfor the injector 12 and macerator 14 can be simultaneously andautomatically adjusted from a single and remote source, negating theneed for multiple adjustments on each device 11.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 4. initially in block 100 an individualselects an input on the control box 20 corresponding to a particularfood product to be processed by the injector 12 and the macerator 14.Upon receiving the desired input, in block 102 the CPU 24 of the controlbox 20 accesses the storage medium 26 to determine the properconfiguration or setting for the first roller 50 and for the adjustablecomponent(s) in the injector 12. Once the proper settings for theseitems are located, in block 104 the CPU 24 of the control box 20 sends asignal to the servomotor 78 on the macerator 14 and to the associatedmotor, valve or other motive member in the injector 12 to adjust theposition or other operational configuration for the first roller 50 inthe macerator 14 and other adjustable component(s) in the injector 12.At block 106, after the adjustable components have been properlyconfigured and verified in a closed loop feedback system, the injector12 and macerator 14 are activated to process the particular foodproduct.

When it is desired to process a different food product in the system 10,or to process the same product according to a different set of desiredparameters or qualities, in block 108 another input is entered on thecontrol box 20. The parameters or settings for the adjustable componentsof the injector 12 and associated macerator 14 are determined in block110 and the CPU 24 of the control box 20 sends another signal to theappropriate motive members in block 112 to reposition the adjustablecomponents as necessary prior to processing the following food product.

In an alternative embodiment, the control box 20 can be disposed on themacerator 14 in place of or in conjunction with the control box 80,which can be disposed on the injector 12 to control the operation of theinjector 12. The box 20 when disposed on the macerator 14 can beutilized to adjust the settings of the macerator 14 and the injector 12,or the macerator 14 alone. Additionally, in those embodiments where thecontrol box 20 is able to receive and/or transmit wireless signals, theinputs 22 can be removed from the control box 20 and disposed on aremote transmission device (not shown) such as a suitable handhelddevice that can transmit wireless signals to the box 20, or via anInternet connection to a suitable locally disposed device, such as arouter, that relays the signals to the box 20.

The present invention thus allows an operator to select the operatingparameters of a processing device such as a macerator, including thespacing between the knife shaft rollers and the cutting speed of therotating knives, in addition to the tension or force of the rotatingrollers or knife shafts. In the case of a double macerator that includestwo sets of independently operated and controlled knife rollers, theparameters of the two sets of knife rollers can be controlled andadjusted together or separately according to the desired processing ofthe particular food product.

In another alternative embodiment, the mechanism 44 can be utilized toretrofit existing macerators 14 that include a handwheel adjustmentmechanism to enable the settings for the macerators 14 to beautomatically and/or remotely adjusted utilizing the control box 20 andservomotor 78.

Looking now at FIGS. 5-11, a second embodiment of the macerator 14′ isillustrated for use in the system 10. The macerator 14′ is constructedsimilarly to the macerator 14 in the system 10 of FIG. 1, with theaddition of a food product profile and/or height detection system 100.The system 100 includes a mechanical mechanism 102 and anelectromagnetic wave mechanism 104, through either mechanism 102, 104can be utilized independently of the other.

The mechanism 104 is mounted to the housing 40′ for the macerator 14′,such as adjacent the inlet 32′ for the macerator 14′, and is directed atthe conveyor 30′. Various suitable types of 260 electromagnetic waves,e.g., radio waves, light, etc., are emitted from the mechanism 104towards food product (not shown) located on the conveyor 30′. Byreflecting the radiation off of the product, i.e., using radio waves, orby determining the position of various points on the product relative toreference points on the conveyor 30′ or in the mechanism 104, i.e.,using light waves, the mechanism 104 can determined the height profilefor the product moving up the conveyor 30′.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with the mechanism 104, a mechanicalmechanism 102 can determine the height profile of the product moving upthe conveyor 30′. The mechanical mechanism 102, as best shown in FIGS. 5and 10-12, includes a pair of mounting brackets 106 secured to opposedsides of the conveyor 30′. The brackets 106 extend upwardly from theconveyor 30′ and support a bearing flange mount 108. The bearing mounts108 include bearings (not shown) therein that enable an actuator 110 tobe mounted thereto on a rod 109 extending between the mounts 108. Therod 109 extends through the bearing mount 108 and is engaged with apositional sensor 114 located on the outside of the conveyor 30′. Withinthe conveyor 30′, the shaft 112 includes a number of actuating fingers1.16 that extend radially outwardly from the shaft 112. The fingers 116have a first portion 118 extending from the shaft 112 and a secondportion 120 disposed at an angle with regard to the first portion 118.The first portion 118 extends away from the shaft 112 in a direction,e.g., along the length of the conveyor 30′ in either direction, thatallows food products moving along the conveyor 30′ to engage the fingers116 to rotate the fingers 116, shaft 112 and rod 109 with respect to themount 108 and sensor 114. This rotation enables the sensor 114 tomeasure the height of the food product based on the amount of rotationof the rod 109 and shaft 112 in a known manner. Further, the directionthat the second portion 120 of the fingers 116 extend relative to thefirst portion 116 is selected in order to enable the food productcontacting the fingers 116 to easily deflect and rotate the fingers 116away from the conveyor 30′ to avoid urging the fingers 116 against theconveyor 30′.

Using one or both of the mechanical mechanism 102 and/or electromagneticwave mechanism 104, the height of the food product moving towards theinlet 32′ along the conveyor 30′ can be determined. Due to a connectionbetween the mechanism 102 and/or 104 and the control box 20′ and/or 80′,the determination of the height of the food product by the mechanisms102 and/or 104 can be utilized by the control box 20′ and/or 80′ to usethe positioning mechanism 122 to vary the position of the movable roller50′ from the parameters set by the control box 20′ and/or 80′ toaccommodate the height of the individual products passing through themacerator 14′. In this manner, while the preset spacing of the rollers50′ and 52′ for the particular food product treated by the macerator 14′is initially set by the operator via the control box 20′ and/or 80′,this spacing can be continuously and dynamically varied by themeasurements obtained by the mechanisms 102 and/or 104 as needed for theparticular food products being treated.

The measurements of the mechanisms 102 and 104 can also be utilized toinitiate the operation of the macerator 14′ via the control box 20′and/or 80′. For example, when no product is detected by the mechanisms102 and/or 104, the control box 20′/80′ can switch off the rotation ofthe rollers 50′ and 52′, to reduce the power consumption of themacerator 14′, among other reasons. Once food product is sensed byeither or not mechanisms 102 and/or 104, the control box 20180′ canstart up the rotation of the rollers 50′ and 52′ to prepare for theentrance of the food product into the macerator 14′. Similarly, once nomore food product is sensed by the mechanisms 102 and/or 104, thecontrol box 20/80′ can switch off the rollers 50′ and 52′ until foodproduct is again sensed on the conveyor 30′.

In addition to a response to the measurements of the mechanisms 102,104, the preset operating conditions (roller spacing, rotational speed,pressure applied to food product, etc.) stored therein, or a combinationof the two, the position of the roller 50′ can be adjusted through theoperation of a positioning mechanism 122, best shown in FIGS. 6-9. Thepositioning mechanism 122 includes a preset adjustment mechanism 124 anda dynamic adjustment mechanism 126. The preset mechanism 124 is operablyconnected directly to the control box 20′/80′ which controls themechanism 122 including a motor 78′, such as a servomotor, connected toa motive system 128, such as a serpentine belt 130, that is operablyengaged with a pair of positioning members 132. The positioning members132 can take the form of jack screws 134 each having a geared member 136and a shaft 138. Upon operation of the motor 78′, the motive system 128,e.g., belt 130, is moved by the motor 78′ to move the positing members132, e.g., to rotate the geared members 136 of each jack 315 screw 134.When rotated, the geared members 136 consequently rotate the shafts 138connected to the geared member 136 in the direction of rotation of thegeared members 136 caused by the motor 78′.

Opposite the geared members 136, the shafts 138 are connected to orengaged with threaded sleeves 140 that are secured to a slide 68′, whichin turn is attached to a frame 46′ that is movably, e.g., slidably,secured to the housing 40′. When the shafts 138 are rotated by theoperation of the motor 78′, the shafts 138 are rotated, causing theshafts 138 to move the slide 68′ along the shafts 138 depending upon thedirection of rotation of the shafts 138, and the correspondinginteraction of the shafts 138 with the threaded sleeves 140 on the slide68′.

The frame 46′ is generally U-shaped, with a pair of spaced arms 47′ thatdefined an open end 48′ across which a roller 50′ is rotatably mountedto the arms 47′ to position the roller 50′ adjacent a roller 52′ that isrotatably mounted directly to the housing 40′ for the macerator 14′.Opposite the open end 48′, the frame 46′ is formed with a centralportion 60′ including a center panel 62′ and a pair of side panels 64′extending outwardly from opposed sides of the center panel 62′ to definea generally U-shaped channel 66′ therebetween. The slide 68′ is receivedwithin the channel 66′ and is operably connected to the center panel 62′of the frame 46′ by a pair of air cylinder shafts 142 engaged with thecenter panel 62′ at one end and which extend though apertures 145 in theslide 68′ into engagement with an associated air cylinder 144 secured tothe slide 68′ at the opposite end. As a result of the connection betweenthe slide 68′ and the center panel 62′ via the air cylinder shafts 142,the movement of the slide 68′ in response to the operation of the motor78′ causes the center panel 62′ and the frame 46′, as well as the roller50′ mounted thereto, to move closer to or further from the fixed roller52′. The amount of movement of the slide 68′, and consequently the frame46′ and roller 50′, relative to the roller 52′ performed by the presetmechanism 124 can be controlled by the preset operating conditionsselected utilizing the control box 20′/80′ for the particular foodproduct, with further adjustment also being able to be performed byuser-directed adjustments input through the control box 20′ and/or 80′.

In addition to connecting the slide 68′ to the center panel 62′ of theframe 46′, the cylinders 144 form the motive part of the dynamicmechanism 126. In the mechanism 126, the slide 68′ is dimensioned suchthat the slide 68′ and channel 66′ are relatively movable with respectto one another, and the slide 68′ includes a pair of guide flanges 70′extending outwardly from the slide 68′. The flanges 70′ extend towardthe center panel 62′ in a direction generally parallel to the sidepanels 64′ to assist in maintaining the alignment of the slide 68′ andthe channel 66′. After the slide 68′, and consequently the frame 46′,has been positioned by the preset mechanism 122, the dynamic mechanism126 enables the frame 46′ to move relative to the slide 68′ due to theoperation of the air cylinders 144.

The cylinders 144 are operably connected to a controller 146 that is, inturn, operably connected to an air supply 148 and to the control box 20′and/or 80′. When a preset value for a particular food product has beenselected utilizing the control box 20′/80′, an air pressure value forthe cylinders 144 is either associated with that preset value orseparately entered using the control box 20′/80′. Once the air pressurevalue is determined, the controller 146 operates the air supply 148 topressurize the cylinder 146 to the specified air pressure value. As aresult, the air cylinder shaft 142 are biased outwardly from thecylinder 144 against the center panel 62′ of the frame 46′with a forcecorresponding to the force of the pressurized air in the cylinder 144acting on the piston 150 within the cylinder 144 to which the shaft 142is attached. When a food product comes into contact with the rollers 50′and 52′, the food product will exert a force on the rollers 50′ and 52′as the rollers 50′ and 52′ exert a force on the food product to processit. Because the roller 52′ is fixed to the housing 40′, all of the forceexerted by the food product on the rollers 50′ and 52′ will be directedat the roller 50′. If the force exerted by the food product exceeds theopposing force exerted on the roller 50′ and frame 46′ by the cylinders144 via the shafts 142, such as when the food product is of larger thanaverage size, the shaft 142 will be urged inwardly into the cylinder144, as shown in FIG. 8. The controller 146 will sense the correspondingchange in the air pressure within the cylinder 144, and will operate thecylinder 144 to relieve the air pressure within the cylinder 144 tomaintain the air pressure constant within the cylinder 144, therebymaintaining a constant biasing force against the frame 46′ and roller50′. Conversely, if the food product engaged by the roller 50′ is ofsmaller than average size, the controller 146 will sense the outwardmovement of the shaft 142 from the cylinder 144 and resulting pressuredrop, and will operate the cylinder 144 to increase the pressure withinthe cylinder 144 accordingly to move the roller 50′ towards the roller52′, as shown in FIG. 9. To do so, depending upon whether the controller146 senses an increase or decrease in the pressure within the cylinder144, the controller 136 will correspondingly decrease the air pressureby operating a relief valve 152 on the cylinder 144, or increase the airpressure by causing the air supply 148 to supply more air to thecylinder 144. Depending upon the nature of the operation taken by thecontroller 146 in response to the change in pressure within the cylinder144, the roller 50′ will move towards or away from the roller 52′ tomaintain the consistent engagement of the roller 50′ with the foodproduct. In this manner, the roller 50′ is able to dynamically move inresponse to the shape and/or consistency of the individual food productengaged by the roller 50′ to engage the food products with a constantamount of force, and produce similarly processed food productsregardless of the particular size of the individual products.

Additionally, as the shafts 142 extend from the cylinder 144 to move theroller 50′ towards the roller 52′, the ends of the shafts 138 in thepreset adjustment mechanism 124 opposite the gears 136 can extendthrough apertures 160 formed in the slide center panel 62′, to avoid anyinteraction between the center panel 62′ and shafts 138 from interferingwith the operation of the dynamic adjustment mechanism 126.

In addition, whether the roller 50′ is moved as a result of theoperation of the preset mechanism 124 or the dynamic mechanism 126, theactual position of the roller 50′ can be constantly monitored by the useof a positioning sensor 200. The sensor 200 includes a housing 202secured via a suitable bracket 204 or other member to the housing 40′. Aprobe 206 extends outwardly from the housing 202 towards the roller 50′such that the tip 208 of the probe 206 is positioned adjacent the roller50′. In one embodiment, the probe 206 is configured as a magnetictransducer to detect the position of the roller 50′ as a result of themagnetic interaction of the probe 206 with the roller 50′. In responseto the position of the roller 50′ sensed by the sensor 200, the positionof the roller 50′ can be adjusted, if necessary, or monitored during theoperation of the macerator 14′.

In alternative embodiments, as best shown in FIGS. 13-15, one or both ofthe knife rollers 50′ and 52′ can be replaced by a press roller 300. Thepress roller 300 is mounted to either the frame 46′ or the support 40′in the same manner as the knife rollers 50′ and/or 52′ to be rotatablewith respect thereto. The press roller 300 has an outer surface 302including a number of ridges 304 thereon that are adapted to compressand tenderize food products engaged by the roller 300, in conjunctionwith similar treatment by an adjacent press roller 300 (FIGS. 13 and14), or with cutting of the food product by an adjacent knife roller 52′(FIG. 15).

Also, while the macerator 14′ has been shown in conjunction with aninjector 12′, the macerator 14′ can be utilized in a stand-alonecapacity, with the macerator 14′ and all of its functions controlleddirectly by the control box 80′ on the macerator 14′, either by directinput from a user or via wireless or remote inputs.

Various alternatives are contemplated as being within the scope of thefollowing claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming thesubject matter regarded as the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a food product, the methodcomprising the steps of: a) providing a first food processing deviceadapted to receive and process a food product and including a firstadjustable component therein, an actuator connected to the firstadjustable component, and a controller operably connected to theactuator and to an input device; b) providing an input to the inputdevice connected to the controller, the input based on the desiredprocessing of the food product; c) operating the actuator in response tothe input provided to adjust the first adjustable component; d)dynamically sensing at least one physical parameter of the food productbeing processed; and e) adjusting the first adjustable component basedon the dynamically sensed physical parameter of the food product.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of operating the actuator comprisesthe steps of: a) accessing a storage medium connected to the controllerto locate a configuration for the first adjustable component associatedwith the input; and b) operating the actuator to adjust the firstadjustable component to match the configuration for the first adjustablecomponent associated with the input in the storage medium.
 3. The methodof claim 2, further comprising the steps of: a) providing a second foodprocessing device adapted to receive and process a food product prior toentering the first food processing device, the second food processingdevice including a second adjustable component and a motive memberoperably connected to the second adjustable component and thecontroller; b) accessing the storage medium connected to the controllerto locate a configuration for the second adjustable component associatedwith the input simultaneously with accessing the storage mediumconnected to the controller to locate a configuration for the firstadjustable component associated with the input; and c) operating themotive member to adjust the second adjustable component to match theconfiguration for the second adjustable component associated with theinput in the storage medium.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising the step of operating the motive member simultaneously withoperating the actuator to adjust the first adjustable component to matchthe configuration of the first adjustable component associated with theinput in the storage medium.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof providing the input to the input device connected to the controllercomprises activating the input device directly on the controller.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the input to the inputdevice connected to the controller comprises sending a wireless signalto the input device.
 7. The method of claim 1, a) wherein dynamicallysensing at least one physical parameter of the food product comprisesdetermining the height profile of the food product; and b) furthercomprising operating the actuator in response to the sensed heightprofile of the food product to readjust the first adjustable component.8. A method for adjusting the operational configuration of a macerator,the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a macerator having ahousing adapted to receive food products therein, a first knife rollerrotatably secured to the housing, a second knife roller disposedadjacent the first knife roller and rotatably secured to a movable framesupported within the housing, an adjustment motor connected to thehousing and including a movable adjustment member engaged with theframe, and a controller operably connected to the adjustment motor andto an input device; b) providing an input to the input device connectedto the controller; c) operating the motor in response to the inputprovided to adjust the position of the frame and the second knife rollerwith respect to the first knife roller; d) providing a second input tothe input device connected to the controller after operating the motor;and e) operating the motor in response to the second input provided toreadjust the position of the second knife roller with respect to thefirst knife roller.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step ofoperating the motor comprises the steps of: a) accessing a storagemedium connected to the controller to locate a position of the secondknife roller with respect to the first knife roller associated with theinput; and b) operating the motor to move the second knife roller tomatch the position of the second knife roller with respect to the firstknife roller as associated with the input in the storage medium.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the step of providing the input to the inputdevice connected to the controller comprises activating the input devicedirectly on the controller.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the stepof providing the input to the input device connected to the controllercomprises sending a wireless signal to the input device.
 12. The methodof claim 8, wherein providing a second input to the input device isbased on dynamically sensing at least one physical parameter of the foodproduct being processed.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein dynamicallysensing the at least one physical parameter of the food productcomprises determining the height profile of the food product.
 14. Amethod of processing a food product, the method comprising the steps of:a) providing a first food processing device adapted to receive andprocess a food product and including a first adjustable componenttherein, a first actuator connected to the first adjustable component,and a controller operably connected to the first actuator and to aninput device; b) providing an input to the input device connected to thecontroller; c) operating the first actuator in response to the inputprovided to adjust the first adjustable component; d) providing a secondfood processing device adapted to receive and process a food productprior to entering the first food processing device, the second foodprocessing device processing the food product in a manner different fromthe process of the first processing device, the second food processingdevice including a second adjustable component and a second actuatoroperably connected to the second adjustable component and thecontroller; e) accessing a storage medium connected to the controller tolocate a configuration for the second adjustable component associatedwith the input simultaneously with accessing a storage medium connectedto the controller to locate a configuration for the first adjustablecomponent associated with the input; and f) operating the secondactuator to adjust the second adjustable component to match theconfiguration for the second adjustable component associated with theinput in the storage medium simultaneously with operating the firstactuator to adjust the first adjustable component to match theconfiguration to the first adjustable component associated with theinput in the storage medium.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thestep of operating the first actuator comprises the steps of: a)accessing a storage medium connected to the controller to locate aconfiguration for the first adjustable component associated with theinput; and b) operating the first actuator to adjust the firstadjustable component to match the configuration for the first adjustablecomponent associated with the input in the storage medium.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the step of providing input to the inputdevice connected to the controller comprises activating the input devicedirectly on the controller.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the stepof providing input to the input device connected to the controllercomprises sending a wireless signal to the input device.